Effect of Isolator Height on a Model Scramjet Intake Performance

Abstract

The performance evaluation of a model scramjet intake according to the isolator height was conducted numerically under a free-stream Mach number 6. The numerical results were verified using the wall pressure and shock wave angle at the scramjet intake for a single case with a 4 mm isolator height. It was confirmed that the difference between the measured values and numerical results for the scramjet intake was less than 10 %. Upon verifying the reliability of the numerical analysis, the performance of the model scramjet intake was investigated using scramjet intake performance parameters, such as the shock wave pattern, static pressure ratio, static temperature ratio, total pressure recovery, air capture ratio, intake drag coefficient, and adiabatic kinetic energy efficiency for 3–5 mm isolator height. The performance of the model scramjet intake has a trade-off relationship with the height of the isolator. © 2022, The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.